Chelsea v Tottenham Hotspur: Pupil Versus Tutor as Battle for Top Four Intensifies
Frank Lampard and Jose Mourinho enjoyed several years of success as player and manager respectively at Chelsea, and now the pair lock horns in the dugouts on Saturday lunchtime, as Tottenham Hotspur travel to Stamford Bridge to take on Chelsea, in a crucial battle for the Premier League’s top four placings.
Just one point separates these two London giants in fourth and fifth place in the league table, and with six clubs breathing down the neck of the pair, only a victory will do in this game to give a little breathing space in the race for a Champions’ League spot at the end of the season.
Chelsea will be looking to erase the memory of their 2-0 home defeat to Manchester United on Monday night, but there were some mitigating circumstances for the loss, with United defender Harry Maguire scoring a second-half header, when the former Leicester man seemed somewhat fortunate not to see a red card for an awkward challenge on Blues striker, Michy Batshuayi in the first half.
Spurs needed all of the ninety-three minutes to overcome Aston Villa last Sunday afternoon. Son Heung-Min’s late, late winner deep into injury time sealed a very important win for the Lilywhites, when a draw seemed inevitable. The downside in the victory for Spurs was the injury suffered by the South Korean striker, who will miss many weeks for Tottenham with a fractured arm. This loss, coupled with the severe hamstring injury to Harry Kane, could seriously impact Spurs’ goal return between now and the end of the campaign.
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Event Date: February 22, 2020
Match Odds
Hosts Chelsea are the bookmakers’ favourites to claim the spoils in this fixture and to continue the fight for the top four. The Blues can be backed at the best industry price at the time of writing of 4/5 with Unibet to regain the winning thread.
A Stamford Bridge stalemate is narrowly preferred to a Tottenham victory with most layers, with several firms including Betway and SportingBet going 3/1 on the Draw. Coral go top price on an away win for Jose Mourinho’s men at the standout odds of 15/4.
Of the last ten league meetings between the two clubs since 2009 in the Premier League at Stamford Bridge, Tottenham have tasted victory just once in that period with a 3-1 win back in 2018. Former Spurs man Christian Eriksen levelled an Alvaro Morata opener with Dele Alli scoring two second half goals for the victory. That singular victory has come alongside just three draws and six defeats within that initial timescale.
This game is difficult to call considering both teams have their own respective problems, but narrow preference is for the game to end in a draw at full time. Chelsea have been profligate in attack recently, while Tottenham could struggle to find the net with so few attacking options available. A low-scoring draw seems to be the solid call in this one.
Individual Goal Scorers
Chelsea will be hoping to bring back leading scorer, Tammy Abraham for this game, following his absence in the recent defeat to Manchester United. The 22-year old has hit 13 Premier League goals so far this season, and his presence was seriously missed on Monday night. If the England man does return to the starting line-up then the 18/5 on offer with Unibet and 888 Sport is the best industry price available in the first goal market.
If Abraham is still unavailable, then Lampard will have to choose between Batshuayi and French striker, Olivier Giroud to lead the line in this game. Our view is that Giroud could be the man to get the nod after proving to be more threatening to the United defence following his substitution over his Belgian team mate in the second half on Monday night. Unibet and 888Sport are once again offering the industry best odds on both players at 24/5 for Giroud and 5/1 on Batshuayi respectively.
An indication of Tottenham’s lack of goal threat in this contest comes from the First Goalscorer betting market. Dele Alli and Lucas Moura are the shortest priced Spurs men to find the opening goal of the game at 10/1 with Unibet and 888Sport for Alli, along with Betway and SportingBet who are offering the same odds for Moura.
A couple of longer priced options include Tottenham midfielder, Giovani Lo Celso, who impressed in midweek Champions League action against Red Bull Leipzig, and the Argentinian can be had at 20/1 with Betfred and SportingBet, with the likes of William Hill and Ladbrokes offering just 12/1 by comparison.
Emerson has firmly sealed his spot in the Chelsea side at left back in recent times, and the Brazilian is better than expected value in this game at 40/1 – this time with Betfred.
Other Side Bets
Both teams to score in this fixture is a vaguely tempting price of 31/40 with Betway. My enthusiasm is tempered for this particular bet with the absence of Tottenham talisman Kane and his strike partner, Son, but it is a likely winner nonetheless. For punters who believe that neither, or just one team will find the onion bag on Saturday, then William Hill’s offer of 11/10 should be taken.
Over / Under 2.5 Goals is one of the most even betting markets with Over 2.5 being a top price of 4/5 with Betfred, while Unibet go 21/20 on Under 2.5 goals. This bet is difficult to call, but the narrow preference is for Under 2.5 at a shade of odds against.
Once again, we will stick in a Correct Score bet for this game, and our choice for this contest is a 1-1 stalemate. SportingBet are offering the top price of 27/4 for this full-time score line.
This fixture is likely to be a very tense affair that will probably need an early goal to open up the game, however, I’m far from convinced that this contest will provide a flurry of goals considering the poor form and lack of striking options on show.
Best Bets:
- Under 2.5 Goals in the game at 21/20 with Unibet
- Full Time Result to be a Draw at 3/1 with Betway
- Chelsea 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur Correct Score bet at 27/4 with SportingBet.
